where i belong

-2-

Chapter Two

"Colby, fuck off!" I chuckled, batting at his hands. He was in a very cuddly mood and wouldn't stop grabbing at my arms to throw over his shoulders. I woke up at eight in the morning before the other two so that I had time to study and do homework. Sam, waking up at nine, has been playing on his phone and leaving me alone. Colby, however, woke up at eleven and hasn't stopped bothering me ever since. I just keep thinking about the first goodbye back four years ago.

"I love you too," he mumbled, his hot breath against the crook of my neck. We parted from our embrace and he kissed me on the lips. Oh how I'll be deprived of this for four years to come, "But you don't need me for where you're going. Hell, Leslie. You got into an ivy league tuition free. You don't need me distracting you from your coursework. You're going to go off and be the best vet this world has ever seen."

"You've never distracted me," I told him. He gave me a look and I rolled my eyes, sighing, "Okay, maybe sometimes. But distractions are good you know. They're not always bad."

At this moment, though, his distractions were terrible. I only had today and tomorrow to study for my first final. Then, I had it bright and early Monday morning. It was my anesthesiology test that I've been studying for since Thursday. I don't know why, as a vet, I have to study this. It's the vet techs, after all, that handle the prepping of surgery which includes anesthesia. I flipped the pages of my textbook, glancing at diagrams of a dog with a surgical mask over its muzzle about to go under.

"You need a break, babe. You haven't even eaten today," he huffed, trying to shut my book. I threw my arm in the way to keep my page number, then opened the book back up.

"Just let me—" I begged, copying down the same definition for the twentieth time.

"Leslie," he whispered, taking my arm in his hands and closing the textbook. My pen was still by the bind on that page, so I didn't lose where I was. He pulled me up from the chair and dragged me to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and I collapsed onto his lap. My stomach growled right on cue.

"Go get dressed, we're going for food," Colby chirped, tapping my thigh with his palm like he usually does. As I got up to go to the bathroom, he slapped my bum. Sam pretended not to see, but I could see him laughing behind his phone screen.

I went to the bathroom to get ready. I already brushed my teeth when I woke up, so I just needed to do my hair and outfit. I put on my black faux leather skater skirt, but didn't know what to pair it with shirt wise. It wasn't the type of skirt you could just put a tube top on and call it a day. I ripped all the clothes out of my backpack and found a very tight cropped shirt. Colby's friend custom made it for me. It had "sinners" embroidered in red, making it a spitting image of Colby's Balenciaga sweatshirt. It matched perfectly with the skirt. I curled my hair into waves and put it up into two half ponies, giving it the half down half up hairdo.

Just as I was rummaging through my bag for socks and the extra pair of shoes I brought, a fist rapped on the door. Colby opened it without an answer from me, tapping his toes in a jittery manner.

"I have to pee!" He whined.

I laughed and motioned to the toilet, "Be my guest."

I pulled out my black Doc Martens and some ankle high socks. I tied them on my feet while the sound of Colby's stream hitting the toilet was heard in the background. I exited the bathroom as I heard the flush of the toilet. I grabbed my phone off the bedside table and went to take a mirror selfie in the mirror above the desk. As I was about to take the photo, Colby appeared, wrapping his arms around my waist and propping his head against mine. He had a toothy, happy smile on his face and it made me happy. I could feel, for both of us, that we were happier than we've been in the past nine months.